Mall developer Siam Piwat says its rejuvenated Siam Center in downtown Bangkok will “reinvent shopping” in the Thai capital.
Inspired by Soho District of New York, the Siam Center in Pathum Wan District will put Bangkok among the ranks of the world’s most innovative shopping destinations when it reopens – behind schedule – on January 11 next year.
“In Soho, you see a timeless and invigorating mix of art, fashion and technology presented in a way that matches the unique character of the district. It is, perhaps, the only place in the world where stores have designed their shop to suit the distinct style of the district,” said Siam Piwat CEO Chadatip Chutrakul.
Chutrakul said the rejuvenated mall will pioneer a revolutionary new retail development concept where the developer works collaboratively with retailers and brand owners to give the entire venue a consistent visual identity.
“Brand owners and retailers have agreed to conceive their store designs to reflect an overall theme that is clearly and distinctly Siam Center, even for the stores of the biggest of big-name international and local brands in fashion as well as in food and beverages,” she said.
Most stores will carry special product selections that are unique and only available at Siam Center, including the provision of innovative and exclusive offerings extending to special menus in food and beverage outlets. These exclusive collections will be around 20 per cent of their total collections, whether they be in fashion, stationery, or home decoration.
During the last 18 months, Siam Piwat has been working with shop designers as well as both local and international brand owners to develop new product lines.
“We challenged each brand to rediscover themselves with us, to be daring, and to explore and tap into rich, new potential for their own brands through new ideas, new line extensions, signature labels, and innovative product variations,” said Chutrakul.
Around US$60 million has been invested in rejuvenating the mall, $33 million by Siam Piwat, and the rest by the retailers and brand owners.
“Visitors will gain hundreds of new experiences from all the individual stores that are quite unlike any of their sister stores around the city. This is the biggest collaboration ever undertaken by retailers and brand owners in Thailand,” Chutrakul said.
The mall’s design theme combines industrial chic and ultra-modern, creating contrasts and surprises. Even the lighting, which in other venues tends to be generally very neutral, has been specially designed and purpose-built as an art piece for its own particular space in the building.
Technology plays a vital role in the rejuvenated mall. The developer invested around US$2.2 million for more than 500 LED screens. There will be no more posters or billboards, but interactive digital walls and surfaces as well as ‘digital stylists’ and even ‘digital closets’ from where people can do ‘digital fittings’.
Siam Center has a gross floor area of 40,000 sqm, with 250m of street frontage. The mall recorded a footfall of around 350,000 a day during the final weeks before its closure for rebuilding.
Siam Piwat is the company behind other malls including Siam Paragon and Siam Discovery which flank Siam Centre, and Paradise Park.
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